


A Crack In Time

by The_Cats_Paw



Category: Naruto
Genre: Dai-nana-han | Team 7 (Naruto) Feels, F/M, Fuinjutsu, Gen, More Coming When I Think Of It, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, Two Sakuras, Uchiha massacre fix-it, kakasaku - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-02
Updated: 2018-12-07
Packaged: 2019-08-14 13:13:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16493246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Cats_Paw/pseuds/The_Cats_Paw
Summary: After accidentally bumping into a random person on the street, six year old Sakura finds a strange scroll in her possession, one that brings her future self back into the past. KakaSaku, time travel fix-it.





	1. The Scroll

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there! So, I’ve had absolutely zero motivation to write, ever since I got sick last month with tonsillitis, and then laryngitis. All I’ve been doing since then is read, read, read. And in doing so, today, I finally got inspired to actually write when the summary of a random story triggered the creation of this idea. (Btw, that plot fic has nothing to do with this one)  
> Hopefully this means I can get stuff done for my other fics too. :P  
> Also posting on fanfiction!

Haruno Sakura was walking slowly, sniffling. Today, Ami and her friends had cornered her after Academy classes, and had pushed her around until their look-out had spotted adults coming. Sakura had taken advantage to make a run for it, not that the other girls had noticed, they’d been too busy running themselves.

Letting out one huge sniffle, Sakura brought her tiny hand up to her sore forehead, rubbing it. After all the poking the other girls had done, she wouldn’t be surprised if it was a bright red by now. Making fun of her forehead was her bullies favourite pastime where Sakura was concerned, though she wasn’t the only one they picked on. She was, however, the one they picked on the most.

As she plodded along, Sakura wasn’t really paying attention to where she was going, and kind of swerved into the path of someone else, colliding with them. They were much bigger than her, an adult, she guessed, so she went down hard while they simply tripped over her. Her bag spilled open, dumping all of her stuff to the ground, and they also dropped what they were carrying.

“Oomph!”

“Ah! Hey kiddo, watch where you’re going!”

Sakura looked up to see someone scowling down at her, though their expression softened after a moment, and they sighed, bending down to help her and to gather up their own things. “Sorry, kid,” they said as they helped her pick up her school work. “Suppose I can’t really blame you, I wasn’t watching where I was going, either.”

“It’s alright, mister,” Sakura said, and once she had her bag packed again, she bowed to him and apologised, “Ah! Gomen! I promise to be more aware of what I’m doing in the future!”

He chuckled and ruffled her hair. “See ya around, kiddo,” he said, and took off down the street.

Sakura made sure that she was paying attention all the rest of the way home, and once she arrived on her doorstep, breathed a deep sigh of relief as she stepped through the door.

“Kaa-san! Tou-san! I’m home!”

Her mother poked her head out of the kitchen as Sakura entered their living room. “Hi sweetie,” her mother greeted her. “Did you have a good day?”

“Yes,” Sakura said, which was only a partial lie. It _was_ good until Ami and her friends found her. “I’m going straight up to my room, kaa-san.”

“Homework?” her mother guessed as her daughter nodded. “Well, dinner’s in three hours, so make sure you see your tou-san before then in the backyard. I think he wanted to show you some new katas today.”

Sakura nodded then headed up to her room.

After breezing through her homework, Sakura had a quick wash and changed into a simple pair of black pants and a red kimono styled shirt with her clan symbol on the back. Her tou-san was indeed outside, and he gave a _huge_ grin when he saw his daughter.

“There’s my little Cherry!” he greeted her. “Ready for some lessons?”

Sakura’s father was a chuunin, and he was assigned to the cipher corps. So unlike most ninja parents, he spent a lot of time in the village, and hardly went out on missions. When Sakura had asked him about it, he’d told her he’d served the village plenty in the Third war and just after, and that he wanted to be a more hands on parent for his daughter.

For the next two hours, Sakura memorised the new katas her father had for her, listening with attentive awe as he explained how her great-great grandfather had come up with this unique style. It was a fast, defensive style, one that wasn’t really suited for the heavy hitters, though the Haruno’s had never been tanks, in the first place. Her father told her the style was appropriate for close to mid range fighting, for evasion, and was also good for courier work, as the moves were flexible enough for quickly striking to help create openings for escape.

Dinner was normal, her mother serving up a simple meal of steamed rice, tempura, and sashimi, with some anmitsu for dessert. That last bit made Sakura ecstatic, and she practically gobbled her dinner down in order to get at her favourite food. Once she was done, she bowed appreciatively, then headed upstairs to make sure she would be ready for tomorrow.

It was once she’d upturned her bag, dumping everything onto her bed for sorting, that she found it. A strange scroll that she could swear she’d never seen before. Frowning, Sakura inspected it curiously, noting that there was nothing noteworthy about it, other than it’s unexpected inclusion in her bag. Ordinary paper, tied with a green ribbon, not even properly sealed, to be honest.

Temporarily putting it aside, she repacked her bag with what she’d need the following day, then went to bid her parents goodnight. Back up in her room, she sat on her bed, staring at the scroll, curiosity filling her. Almost without realising it, she opened the scroll, noting a complex series of kanji and katakana, recognising a sealing formula for what it was, even if she couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

Frowning, Sakura brushed her hand over it, careful not to activate he chakra. Fat lot of good that did, since as soon as her fingers touched the seal in the middle, her chakra was sucked out of her anyway. Instantly she felt incredibly dizzy, her vision blurred, and she just _knew_ that she was about to pass out.

‘ _So this is what chakra exhaustion feels like_ ,’ she thought.

Right before she lost consciousness, Sakura saw the strangest thing. Green chakra swirled on the scroll, then floated out, forming the shape of a person. The last thing Sakura saw was a pair of confused, yet familiar, green eyes set in a face framed with hair the exact same shade as her own.

Then she was out like a light.


	2. The Twin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After accidentally bumping into a random person on the street, six year old Sakura finds a strange scroll in her possession, one that brings her future self back into the past. KakaSaku, time travel fix-it.

The first thing Sakura became aware of as she slowly rose to consciousness, was the feeling of cool chakra flowing through her. It was familiar, like she knew it, but different at the same time. It felt older, more refined. Slowly her eyelids fluttered open, the image before her blurry a moment, before coalescing to form the same thing she’d seen before passing out. Green eyes and pink hair. Sakura stared a moment, then shot to a sitting position, backing up in her bed and staring with wide eyes.

“Calm down,” the woman who looked like an older version of herself said, her voice calm and placating. “I transferred some chakra to you, so that you won’t suffer any long term damage from your chakra exhaustion just now. Seriously, at your age, you could have permanently damaged your chakra coils.”

“W-who are you?” Sakura asked, nervous and more than a little scared of the stranger-not-stranger in her room.

The woman sighed. “I’m you,” she said, adding at Sakura’s disbelieving look, “No, really. I had a look at that scroll while you slept… It’s funny, I don’t actually remember having a scroll with time travelling fuinjutsu when I was your age. Hmm…”

The relaxed manner the woman had as she contemplated that last part had Sakura also unconsciously relaxing as well. Gaze roving over her, the younger one noted that the older her (if this was even true) was _very_ pretty. And the best thing, _the best thing_ , was that her forehead wasn’t huge.

‘ _So kaa-san was right_ ,’ Sakura thought. ‘ _I really_ will _grow into it._ ’

Huh? When had she accepted it?

“Where’s the scroll?” Sakura asked.

“Hm? Oh, over there, on your table,” she was told. “It’s inert now, so it’s relatively safe to handle at this point. Though I wouldn’t recommend an Academy student touches it… Er, just how old are we right now, anyway?”

“I’m six,” Sakura said proudly. “But… I’ll be seven in a few months.”

“Right!” the older version of her said, standing up. “I think we should go see kaa-san and tou-san.”

“What? Right now?” Sakura panicked, thinking of the scolding she was likely to get for messing with an unknown scroll.

“Of course right now, silly,” older Sakura said with a smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll be right by your side.”

Nervously, Sakura hopped out of bed, following her older self, who’d grabbed the scroll, likely to show it to their parents. “What… er, what should I call you?” Sakura asked.

“That’s a good point… Hmm, how about just Saku for now?”

Sakura nodded and followed Saku down to where her mother and father would still be up. When they reached the living room, her father automatically looked up, smiling when he saw his daughter. That smile vanished when he saw Saku, and he was immediately on his feet, kunai in hand, startling his wife.

“Who are you?” he demanded, and Saku raised her arms in surrender.

“It’s complicated,” Saku said. “But suffice to say, your daughter opened a fuinjutsu scroll that used her chakra to summon me from the future.”

Utter disbelief was on Haruno Kizashi’s face. “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard,” he dead-panned.

“It’s true, tou-san!” Sakura spoke. “Have a look at the scroll.”

Saku placed the scroll on a nearby table, and their father carefully took it, opening it up to check it out. His eyes widened, and Sakura could see the cogs turning in his head, could almost _imagine_ what he was thinking.

“Where did you get this, Cherry?” he asked.

“I ran into someone in the street,” Sakura told him. “Literally. We dropped our stuff, and… I guess that accidentally ended up in my bag.”

Kizashi and Mebuki glanced at one another. “This is some high level fuinjutsu,” her father said. “No one who’d have a scroll like this would be so careless as to let it fall into the hands of a child.”

“What do we do?” Mebuki asked her husband.

“We need to see the Hokage,” Kizashi decided, then looked to Saku. “I assume you’ll be wanting to find a way to get back home?” he asked.

Saku nodded. “Though I’m not sure if it’ll be possible,” she admitted.

“Why ever not?”

“I had a look at the scroll before Sakura woke,” she said. “I’m no expert, but I do know two people who’re pretty darn good at it, with one of them well on his way to becoming a Master at it. I’ve picked up enough to know that reversing _that_ seal, will be incredibly unlikely, if not impossible.”

Kizashi sighed, then turned to his wife. “Mebuki, dear, can you take Sakura back up to bed?” he spoke. “I’ll take… er… Kagome, I think, to see the Hokage. I’m sure Sandaime-sama is still up with all that paperwork of his.”

“But we already decided to just call her Saku, tou-san,” Sakura said. “Saku? What do you think?”

“Kagome is appropriate, since it means ‘lost’,” Saku said. “But yeah, I think I like Saku best.”

Sakura grinned and Kizashi sighed. “Outvoted by _both_ my daughters. Oh, the tragedy.”

Mebuki sighed, Sakura giggled, and Saku grinned fondly. “Alright then,” Mebuki said. “Come on now, Sakura, time to head back to bed. You still have school tomorrow, young lady!”

“Aww!” Sakura complained, but let her mother usher her upstairs.

Saku and Kizashi faced one another. “Ready?” he asked, and she nodded.

They didn’t run over the rooftops, simply walked, and Saku realised that it was because her father was trying to make sure that he had a bit more time to absorb all of this before they faced the Hokage to explain it. She sighed and decided to help him out.

“What would you like to know?” she asked.

After a moment of silence, Kizashi spoke, “So, how far forward are you from?”

“I’m nineteen,” Saku told him. “From the looks of the calendar in Sakura’s room, it seems that the date is otherwise the same, too.”

“November twenty ninth?”

A nod was his answer.

A bit more silence, then Saku said, “I figure they’ll want a full work up done, blood tests, chakra tests, and a Yamanaka interrogation.”

“S.O.P.” was all Kizashi said.

The rest of the way was spent in silence, and soon enough, the Hokage tower loomed before them. Turning to his future daughter, Kizashi asked, “Are you ready, Sakura?”


	3. The Shadow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After accidentally bumping into a random person on the street, six year old Sakura finds a strange scroll in her possession, one that brings her future self back into the past. KakaSaku, time travel fix-it.

The Hokage building was quiet, it _was_ almost midnight after all. There were still ANBU on guard, naturally, and as Kizashi spoke quietly with the one on ‘open’ duty right outside the Hokage’s door, Saku tried to guess how many were _actually_ on duty. Probably at least seven. After directly serving under the Fifth and Sixth Hokages, she knew that the minimum required was four, including the one at the door.

The ANBU guard slipped into the Hokage’s office, and was gone maybe two minutes before re-emerging and nodding his head at them. Kizashi shot Saku a reassuring half-smile as the two entered the room. Adjusting to the bright light of the office after the dull light of the corridor had Saku blinking a bit, then she laid eyes on a living and whole Third Hokage for the first time since she was twelve.

“Haruno Kizashi,” Hiruzen greeted them, eyes flicking briefly to Saku. “It’s been awhile since you were last here in my office. Not long after Minato passed, I believe.”

Kizashi bowed in respect and Saku followed suit. “Sandaime-sama,” he said. “Yes, it has indeed been that long.”

“And what is it that has brought you here now at such a late hour?” the Hokage asked. “I assume it has something to do with the young lady with you. She wears our hitai-ate, yet I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure.”

“It’s a complicated situation, Hokage-sama,” Kizashi spoke. “The absolute basics of it is that my daughter accidentally activated a sealed scroll that brought an older version of herself here from the future.”

_That_ seemed to have the Third at a loss for words. “The future?” he managed a moment later. “How certain can you be of this?”

“At this point, sixty percent,” Kizashi said, then fished into his pocket for the scroll in question, holding it out. “One of your ANBU, preferably one with at least a working understanding of seals, should have a look at this.”

Saku felt the Hokage let out a tight flare of chakra, and the next thing, an ANBU with a hawk mask stood before them, taking the scroll and unfurling it for examination. “Where did your daughter get this?” the ANBU asked a moment later.

“She claims that someone bumped into her on the street,” Kizashi replied. “I have no idea if it was deliberate or not on their part, it could be nothing but an accident.”

“Allowing seal working of this level to drop into the hands of a child is either a blunder of epic proportions, or it was indeed deliberate,” the ANBU said, then turned to the Hokage. “Hokage-sama, this is incredibly dangerous sealing, in part because it does seem to do what Haruno-san has claimed it does, but there is another part. There’s no reversal kanji on the scroll. Seal formulas generally hold a reversing kanji as a fail-safe in case things go wrong. But there’s nothing like that on this scroll.”

“This is indeed troubling,” Hiruzen spoke, then turned to Saku. “I would like to know what you think.”

“I agree,” Saku said. “After Sakura summoned me here, she fell unconscious from chakra exhaustion. I transferred some of my chakra to her, and while I was doing that, I had a look at the scroll. It’s incredibly complex, and the lack of reversal kanji has me worried.”

Hiruzen look a long puff on his pipe, then stated plainly, “Because it means that there’s little chance of reversing it and getting you home.”

Saku nodded, Kizashi sighed, and the ANBU remained as stoic as ever.

“It seems we’ll have to hunt down this mysterious scroll owner, find out why he had it, and why he left it with your younger self,” the Hokage said. “In the meantime…” he sighed. “It’s late, we should continue this in the morning. In the meantime, I apologise, but I shall have to put an ANBU on to watch you… Sakura, isn’t it?”

“Yes, Hokage-sama,” Saku confirmed. “Though we’d thought calling me Saku to distinguish me from my younger self would help. And it’s fine, it’s procedure, after all.”

Hiruzen nodded. “Just one thing I’d like to know before you go,” he said. “How far into the future are you from?”

“About thirteen years,” Saku told him. “The day and month is exactly the same.”

“Convenient,” the Hokage said, and Saku smiled at the small, amused gleam in his eye.

“It is.”

“Very well then,” he spoke. “Report back here in the morning, no later than seven. I’ll have about an hour for a debrief with you before we get through all the necessary procedures.”

“Chakra check, medical test, and a mind-walk?” Saku surmised, and the Hokage nodded before dismissing them, then she and her father left.

OoOoO

Once they were gone, Hiruzen let out a sigh, leaning back in his chair. “Which operative do you think would be best for watching her?” he asked the ANBU still in front of him, though no doubt one of his constant shadows had already started tailing the girl, as procedure dictated.

Hawk cocked his head, indicating he was considering. “Whoever it is will need to be briefed,” he spoke. “Can’t have a rookie on it, in that case. Someone with at least five years, that has a proven track record and loyalty. And they’d have to be someone we could spare, on the flip side of all that. I can only think of five who cover everything we need, Hokage-sama. Three are usually on Naruto-watch, and the other two are currently grounded due to injury.”

Hiruzen waved his hand at that. “Scrap the grounded ones,” he commanded. “Which are the other three?”

“Hound, Bull, and Mouse, sir,” Hawk told him.

Mouse was a good option, Bull too. Both of them excelled in surveillance, they would be able to remain undetected. Hound though… Hiruzen had a feeling that if he pulled Hound off of Naruto-watch right now, the operative might have a few words to say about that. _If_ he was given permission to speak freely, that is. He sighed, knowing he’d give it if asked. Still, maybe having the three on a rotation?

“Put all three on a rotating schedule,” Hiruzen told Hawk. “Start with Mouse. Even if she proves legitimate, I think we’ll be keeping a guard on her anyway. Though the reason will change if things go that way.”

ANBU Hawk bowed at the dismissing tone in his Kage’s voice and disappeared to do his bidding, leaving the Leaf’s Fire Shadow to himself once more.


	4. The Remembrance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After accidentally bumping into a random person on the street, six year old Sakura finds a strange scroll in her possession, one that brings her future self back into the past. KakaSaku, time travel fix-it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter! Wow, I'm on a roll today! Well, considering I've already posted a new chapter for another fic. :P
> 
> Anyway, as I've stated in the author notes of the other fic I updated, I'm doing a course right now, and that's probably gonna take up all my mental energy for awhile.

The next morning an ANBU turned up to escort Saku to the Hokage building. The trip there was uneventful, and soon enough, she was before the Sandaime once more.

"You'll head to the hospital first," he told her. "Level three, section two-b. Are you familiar with that section?"

Saku nodded. "I'm familiar with every aspect of the hospital, Hokage-sama," she told him.

"Good," he said. "Once there, you will have your blood and chakra test done, then operative Mouse here will escort you to T&I, where two of my most trusted people will take you through your mind-walk interrogation. Once done, you will wait there until they've debriefed me, then you will return here once I've decided what shall be done next. Is that all clear to you?"

Saku nodded, and she was dismissed to follow her ANBU guard to the hospital. Once there, she learned that Mebuki and Sakura were already there for the same tests, though instead of T&I, Sakura would be headed for the Academy straight afterwards. It made sense, since the tests would be comparing the two to make sure they were definitely the same person, if only with thirteen years spanning the difference.

The Hyuuga that read her chakra signature was unknown to her, though the medic was one she'd gotten along with well enough in her own time. Sakura chatted happily throughout the whole thing, earning an indulgent smile from everyone in the room, even the Hyuuga. Though his was more of a grimace, not as bad as an Uchiha one, though. Then Sakura and Mebuki left, and Saku followed Mouse to T&I.

Once there, she was thrown a little off kilter at the sight of Yamanaka Inoichi. Should have expected it, though, he was the best at this right after Ibiki (who was also there) and  _definitely_  a trusted member of the Hokage's shinobi. She smiled wanly at him, earning a curious look from him.

"So this is the time travelling kunoichi?" Ibiki said in that gruff tone of his. "Or at least, so you claim. Well, we'll see soon enough. Right then. Inoichi here will be sorting through your memories, while I monitor your chakra, heart rate, yadda-yadda-yadda. Alright then, over here, on the seat."

The seat he indicated wasn't the typical interrogation device they used,  _that_  was over to the left, and Saku eyed it speculatively before she sat down. "That's only used with  _unwilling_  subjects," Ibiki said, correctly guessing her thoughts. "You're apparently willing. Alright then, let's get this started. Inoichi!"

Inoichi came forward, just as assistants started attaching heart monitors and such to Saku. "Inoichi-oji," she greeted him, and his eyes widened ever so imperceptibly, before narrowing slightly. "Ino and I are best friends," she told him. "Though I think it hasn't actually happened here, yet."

"How did it happen?" he asked, then said, "Never mind, I guess I'll find out in a moment."

He placed his hand over her forehead, closed his eyes, and suddenly Sakura was swept inwards into her mind.

OoOoO

" _Little Sakura!" Kizashi cried. "Well, don't you look adorable for your first day of school!"_

_Sakura giggled. "Tou-chan!" she cried. "I can't be_ cute _! I'mma be a_ ninja _, and ninja are_ scary _!"_

" _I'm pretty sure that you can be cute and scary at the same time, my little Cherry," he told her._

Inoichi viewed the memory with a frown, noting the fact that it was authentic. No one, and that really meant  _no one_ , could make a fake memory look this real. Already he'd been through her childhood up to this point, and as the memories kept scrolling by, he was convinced that at least the woman believed all of this to be real. Soon enough, it reached the present time, and just as she'd told him, he watched her friendship with his daughter blossom.

" _See, now you don't have to hide how pretty you are," Ino said, adjusting the ribbon and smiling down at Sakura. "Don't worry about what Ami and her goons say, it's your inner beauty that matters most."_

Inoichi felt a small swell of pride with how mature his daughter sounded, but pushed it away to concentrate on the matter at hand. According to the memories, this encounter was mere days away, only two, in fact. He continued watching their friendship blossom, until the two argued over a  _boy_ , of all things (they were  _nine_  in the memory! way too young to worry over  _boys_ ) and became rivals instead.

The years passed, then they graduated from the Academy. He watched as they were all assigned teams, and Sakura was placed with  _that boy_  and the Kyuubi's host. After recovering from the surprise of having  _Hatake Kakashi_  take on a team, and  _pass_ them, it moved on to their first mission out of the village. Turning around in the mind-scape to follow the memories, Inoichi was shocked when the adult Sakura appeared before him.

"What? How-?"

"Hi Inoichi-oji!" she greeted him. "I need to ask if you've seen enough, or if you intend to go further."

"Why?" Inoichi asked warily.

"Because a lot of serious stuff starts about now," she told him. "Are you here for information, or just confirmation?"

"Confirmation," he told her, then asked, "Do  _you_  think I should keep going?"

"It depends on what Hokage-sama wants to do with me," she told him. "And whether or not I can get back to my own time. The fuinjutsu was technically incomplete, since there was no reversal kanji on it."

_That_  surprised Inoichi. "Whoever made that seal was an idiot," he muttered, and Sakura smirked in appreciation.

"So, forward or not?" she asked.

"Might as well," Inoichi decided. "If you do go home, and we end up changing nothing, I can do a memory wiping seal, to preserve the time line."

Sakura nodded and stepped aside, allowing him access to her memories.

What followed was a maelstrom of events that, if it were up to him, Inoichi would  _definitely_  change it. Orochimaru's invasion, the Akatsuki, that Pein's attack on the village that  _levelled_  it, and then, then… The Fourth Shinobi War. From what he could tell, it only lasted a few days, but Holy Sage, it was devastating. It took more lives than the three before it. And then, and then,  _he died_. He and Shikaku….

But then it was over, the war was won, and peace between all the nations was established. Two years passed, and he saw Tsunade retire, and Kakashi take up the Hat. He saw the Uchiha kid leave the village once more, with permission this time, and Naruto… training to be Hokage. He saw his daughter become close to Sakura's strange team mate, saw Sakura become close to… Really? Her former sensei? Well, that was none of his business.

Pulling out of Sakura's mind once he viewed the memory where she ended up in the past, Inoichi shared a look with Ibiki and said, "She's legit. I really need to talk to the Hokage.  _Now_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, some implied past/future KakaSaku. ;) FYI, in my head, it was just 'starting' when she came back.


	5. The Uchiha

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After accidentally bumping into a random person on the street, six year old Sakura finds a strange scroll in her possession, one that brings her future self back into the past. KakaSaku, time travel fix-it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter! Wahoo! ;) It feels a bit weird, the way I wrote this, but I had a few false starts in getting this done, and since I’ve written all that I have, it’ll do. I’ve been so exhausted lately with the course I’m doing, though I’m enjoying the heck out of it. This week was bar week, and I poured a few beers from a tap for the first time ever. I did great. :) And I made mocktails yesterday, too. Next week’s coffee, that should be interesting as well.

Inoichi was kinda impatient to get to the Hokage tower and see the man ASAP. He didn’t allow Saku out of his sight (not that she was going anywhere) until they were admitted by the Hokage’s assistant, and then he was rather insistent on the top level of privacy seals that the office offered. Saku knew they were good enough that not even a Hyuuga could see in through them.

“You seem to be riled up, Inoichi,” the Sandaime noted. “I assume it has to do with Saku here?”

Inoichi nodded. “I searched her memories and confirmed her identity,” he said. “With her permission, I dug further. Hokage-sama… There are things that are going to happen… If it ends up that we cannot send Sakura-er… Saku here back home, then we’d probably need to start planning for them right away.”

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow. “Is it truly that dire?” he asked.

Inoichi nodded. “Hai,” he said. “And it starts with the Uchiha.”

Saku started at that. She hadn’t noticed that he’d seen that part, and wondered what else he’d seen without her knowing. He really was better at the mind interrogation jutsu than Ino of her time was. Not better than Ibiki, though.

“The Uchiha?” Hiruzen asked, his interest piqued. “What happened? Did they do something?”

Saku was reminded then that the Sandaime, for all his peaceful intentions, had been suspicious of the Uchiha for a long time. It had been something that Tsunade-shishou had remarked upon here and there, noting that it was partly an influence of his teacher, the Nidaime, that gave him that mind-set. Also, she’d made note how Danzou had taken those suspicions to the extreme. Hence his working around the Sandaime to alienate, and then eradicate, the entire clan.

“The Uchiha are going to be exterminated, and soon,” she told him rather bluntly.

The shocked look on his face showed her that they weren’t yet at that irreversible point, which was good. Inoichi was nodding solemnly beside her, and he said, “It was on Danzou-sama’s orders, Hokage-sama. He went against your explicit order for an attempt at peaceful resolution, after it was discovered that they were planning a coup.”

“A coup?”

“It was in response to the way they’d been treated since the Kyuubi attack,” Saku told him. “After all, they were forced to leave their homes, relocated to an out of the way compound _outside_ the protection of the village walls. And then the council started pushing them, forcing even more restrictions upon them, at Danzou’s urging.”

“And how do you know all of this?” the Hokage asked her.

“Shishou, Shizune-senpai, and I went through all of Danzou’s records some time after his death,” Saku told him. “For someone as paranoid as he was, he left a _lot_ of paperwork behind, even though it was _very_ well protected.”

“Your shishou,” Hiruzen mused, and his gaze flitted up to her forehead. “I gather from the rhombus upon your forehead that your shishou is my former student, Tsunade-hime? And you mentioned Shizune, too.”

“Tsunade-sama was the Godaime,” Inoichi spoke up, then smirked slightly. “Something the two of you have in common, you’ve both been the students of two Hokage.”

At the inquiring look on the Shodaime’s face, Saku said, “My gennin sensei became Rokudaime.”

“Ah,” Hiruzen noted. “Back on topic, though. I cannot go levelling accusations against an elder of the village. At least, not without proof. Is there anything you can tell me that would uncover evidence that can be used?”

Sakura thought a moment. “Well, he does have everything well protected,” she mused. “I _do_ know that his ROOT operatives have already infiltrated your ANBU. Almost half of them are his at this point, I think. And I do remember where some of the entrances to the ROOT headquarters were located, and… Er, Hokage-sama? Something the matter?”

Hiruzen did not look very happy. “I ordered him to disband ROOT years ago,” he said.

“Well, he didn’t comply,” Inoichi spoke up. “From what I saw, he was operating them right up to the point of his death.”

“My team mate, Sai, was one of his,” Sakura said. “When my team was down one man, he went to Tsunade-shishou and _told_ her that Sai was replacing Sasuke. He had an agenda for that, of course, but Naruto managed to befriend him, and Sai became a valued team mate after that.”

“You were on a gennin team with Naruto, then?” Hiruzen asked, and Saku nodded.

“Along with Sasuke, the only survivor of the Uchiha massacre,” Sakura confirmed. “Other than his brother Itachi, who was the one Danzou ordered to execute it.”

Hiruzen sighed. “Is there anything that can be done to stop the Uchiha coup, and subsequent annihilation?”

“Stop letting Danzou push them further into seclusion,” Saku said plainly. “And you should probably invite their clan head to voice their grievances to you, with the goal to improving the clan’s relationship and standing with the village.”

The Hokage nodded. “I can do that,” he mused. “But that leaves a great question for me. Minato-san left a message, that he suspected that the Kyuubi attack had been orchestrated by an Uchiha. There was a masked man, you see. He attacked the place Kushina-san was giving birth, and forcibly removed to Kyuubi. Do you know who that was?”

Saku nodded. “That man was a nukenin, though one everyone believed was dead,” she said. “It’s true, he _is_ an Uchiha, but his actions have nothing to do with the clan. They weren’t involved _at all_.”

Another sigh from him, and Hiruzen sat back, closing his eyes, most likely deep in thought. Several minutes passed, until he finally opened his eyes, looking as tired and worn out as the old man that he truly was.

“I think for the moment, I will act upon everything that you have to tell us,” he said. “Whether or not you go back to your own time, it would do well, I think, to keep one of our founding clans not only on side, but also alive and _here in the village_. As for Danzou… Provide me with enough information and evidence, or a way to find it on my own, and I will deal with my long-time friend. I’ve given him so many chances over the years, perhaps _too many_ , and I think it’s about time that everything is dealt with. Until then… Is there anything else immediately pressing to the village?”

“Immediately? No,” Saku told him. “I mean, there’s Orochimaru, but that won’t be for some years yet. Around about the time I became a gennin.”

“Orochimaru. Of course.” Hiruzen spoke in the tone of a long-suffering sensei, a tone Saku had heard come from Kakashi more than once where Naruto was concerned.

“Now,” Hiruzen spoke. “I have some appointments coming up soon. In the meantime, this gives you opportunity to write down everything I need for Danzou. I think, also, that we should come up with a proper alias for you, one that cannot be refuted. However, we will discuss it later. If both of you could return this evening at sundown, I will have more time to discuss this then.”

That was definitely a dismissal, and Inoichi and Saku left, leaving Hiruzen to deal with the headache of figuring out how to handle the information he’d received.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, a rather info heavy chapter. Kakashi should be coming up soon, gotta work in a way for them to meet. I mean, he’s already assigned as one of her ANBU shadows, but that’s just a start.


End file.
